In the construction of large structures, including large buildings and the like, it is necessary to pour concrete at a location remote from the source (truck, hopper, etc.) of the concrete. Some sites are at or below ground level, and other sites are located at elevations substantially above ground level. For example, in the construction of a multi-floored building, concrete is delivered to upper floors by heavy duty flexible hoses. Pumps provide pressure for delivering the viscous concrete to the specific locations. The concrete is spread over metallic decks having ribs and reinforcing rods and the concrete-spreading hose must be moved from time to time to efficiently spread the concrete over the steel deck. At other sites, concrete is spread over plywood docks, slab on grade or on the ground surface.
Although the size of the delivery hoses may vary over a relatively wide range (for example from three inch to six inch diameter), five inch diameter hoses are used extensively at construction sites. A 10 foot length of five inch diameter hose filled with wet concrete weighs approximately 200 pounds. The present practice involves the movement of hoses by workers through the use of lengths of rope (4 to 5 lengths) tied to the hose or the use of an elongate hose engaging tool which permits the workers to manually move the hose. Obviously, manual movement of these heavy hoses is laborous and requires substantial effort by the workers. Although there are presently no mobile devices for supporting concrete delivery hoses to facilitate movement of these hoses, U.S. Pat. No. 666,240 to Doehring discloses a hose truck for supporting garden hoses, fire hoses and the like. The Doehring device is actually a mobile coupling for interconnecting two separate hoses (rigid pipe and flexible hose) and is not designed structurally or functionally to effectively support concrete-spreading hoses.